Rand Paul: Balance Federal Budget in 5 Years

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who voted against the stopgap bill that keeps the federal government operational until March 18, says he did so because Americans don’t want incremental change, but something “substantial and significant.”

Paul Wednesday also told Fox News’ Neal Cavuto the GOP will offer a five-year plan to balance the budget, as well as a balanced-budget amendment, to show Republicans can be bolder than President Barack Obama, who has abdicated leadership on the country’s fiscal crisis.

“I think the American people want a plan, they want us to be for something distinctly different than the Democrats, [who] are just wanting to add debt,” Paul said. “I don’t think they want incremental change, they want something that would really be substantial and significant change.

“We’ve got to be much bolder. We are going to be presenting a five-year plan that will balance the budget over five years,” he said. “We’re going to be presenting a balanced-budget amendment.”

Cavuto asked whether Paul was running into a “little bit of head wind” with his fellow Republicans by voting no on the stopgap measure.

“I think the Republicans want to do the right thing, but I think we have to be more bold,” Paul replied. “Basically the president has abdicated leadership on this issue.

“He’s doing nothing but adding and drowning our country in debt, and Republicans need to stand up and say – not that we are this much better than the president – we believe in a balanced budget,” he continued, saying marginal change is useless and Americans want to hear: “We will balance the budget over five years and here’s how we do it. That’s the boldness the American people want.”

Cavuto noted that marginal change is how Congress operates.

“My fear is that if we do these incremental changes, and we don’t dramatically reform the government process – the budgetary process – that both sides, Republican and Democrat, will lead us towards a fiscal crisis,” Paul said.

“I think we could face something like what happened to Greece, what is facing Japan, and what is facing most of the civilized world now – is that we are way overspent, and it’s going to take dramatic changes, it’s going to take bold leadership, and I don’t think we are seeing that,” he said.